1. MYCOREMEDIATION

2. What Is Mycoremediation?
A type of Bioremediation
Involves using mycelium
To filter runoff water from farms, waste dumps, junkyard sites
To degrade toxic chemicals and destroy bacteria and viruses in contaminated soil
To break down garbage at dumps
Paper and cardboard
Diapers
Old fuel, solvents, motor oil, paint

3. Oil Spills Contaminates beaches, river deltas
Oil floats on surface of water and is pushed onto beachfronts and into nearby coastal swamps and waterways
Oil spills can happen on land when pipelines are damaged or oil wells leak
Cleanup is costly and can take years
A ‘soup’ of petrochemicals renders soil useless
Toxins can continue to poison wildlife and leech into water

4. Chemical Waste Dumps
Companies that produce petrochemical-based products have to deal with industrial waste
It is usually put into barrels and shipped off-site and either buried deep in the ground and encased in concrete or stored above ground until it can be incinerated
Either method of storage has significant risks that the waste will leech into ground water
Incinerating causes pollutants to be released into the atmosphere

5. Garbage Dumps
Millions of tons of paper and cardboard enter landfills yearly
More than 20 billion dirty diapers a year enter landfills, enough to cover a football field three miles deep
Various solvents, paints, fuels, etc. also end up in dumps due to improper disposal
Landfill size is increasing

6. Factory Farming
Runoff water from industrial animal farms contains urine, feces and blood, often from sick and/or dead animals. It is often stored in huge open-air waste lagoons, or manure pits.
Harmful bacteria and viruses contaminate rural wells, rivers, lakes and streams
More than 40 diseases can be transferred to humans through manure
Also contains high amounts of nitrates, which can kill infants and people with heart conditions
Antibiotics added to feed (almost 30 million pounds a year) can lead to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria
Toxic gasses around manure pits have asphyxiated people who got too close

7. Fungi are Biodegradation Experts
Fungi play a major role in the Earth’s environment.
Unique enzymes allow some fungi to digest lignocellulose, giving them a major role in the Earth’s carbon cycle
Certain enzymes also allow some fungi to break down complex hydrocarbon chains found in petrochemical pollutants
Once broken down, the nutrients once locked up in cellulose become available for use by plants
Many toxic substances are broken down into less harmful or non-toxic forms

8. In the degradation of inorganic molecules
Fungi that grow on wood are very effective at degrading aromatic pollutants, herbicides and pesticides—fast!
Breaks down heavy weight hydrocarbon chains into lighter weight molecules
Will break down lighter hydrocarbons completely
Works with other microbial communities in the soil to degrade contaminants into CO2 and water
Oyster mushrooms can be “trained” to degrade PCB’s, TNT, DDT and other toxins
Were used in a project carried out by the Washington State Transportation Commission to clean diesel-contaminated soil from truck bays
Colony began mass monthly fruiting at week 4
Supported vascular plants at week 9
Declared clean enough to use on highway berms as fill soil by week 17
Oyster mushroom mycelium “eating” motor oil

9. We could reduce the size of landfills
Breaks down the strong beta-glycoside bonds of cellulose. The majority of landfill space is occupied by cellulose based waste.
90% of cellulose-based products metabolized within 2 months
Metabolized completely in 4 months
Mushrooms are edible

10. Mushrooms Can Be Used As A Living Filter
Mycelium is composed of a tight network of hyphae, thin threads that absorb liquid flowing through them
Up to 8 miles of hyphae in one cubic inch of soil, some only one cell thick
Amount of toxins that can be removed is directly related to the size of the fungal colony
Can be used at fuel stations, farms, dump sites to filter runoff
Very cheap, simple and easy to implement-dig a hole, mix spawn with soil, backfill hole with mixture
Highly efficient and results in much cleaner runoff within months

11. Fungi Possess Unique Properties
Fungi have evolved to become the ultimate bio-degrader.
Have developed enzymes that break down cellulose
Few organisms can do this as the molecules are strongly bound
Have developed enzymes to break down aromatic compounds found in wood
This property extends to toxic aromatic compounds found in crude oil, petroleum products and byproducts
Can absorb and destroy bacteria and viruses, filtering them out of water that passes through the fungal colony
Can do all these things very quickly, a matter of months in most cases

12. Fungal Future?
Fungi are being investigated for use in a variety of applications
Replacement for Styrofoam blocks in packaging
Waste from grain processing pressed into a mold and inoculated with mushroom culture
Fully colonized grain then dried under heat
Shroom packaging fully biodegradable
Oyster mushrooms can be “trained” to degrade specific substances
DDT, PCB’s, TNT
Under investigation for a variety of other toxins
One species of oyster mushroom has been developed that can destroy termite colonies

13. References